Monday

Oct 28, 2013 at 1:13 PM

AUSTIN - Round one in the court fight over abortion is now over.

A federal judge ruled Monday that key parts of a contentious abortion law the Texas Legislature passed in mid-July are unconstitutional and cannot go into effect today, as the Republican majority anticipated.

The law the Republican-dominated Legislature approved mostly along party lines bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

However, as both sides agreed even before U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel issued his ruling, the legal battle is just beginning and - as the bill's author predicted during the contentious special session Gov. Rick Perry called in late June - the fight will likely go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Yeakel, an appointee of President George W. Bush, ruled unconstitutional a provision requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within a 30-mile radius.

In his 26-page ruling, the judge wrote that such a requirement poses "an undue burden" on a woman seeking an abortion.

"A provision requiring abortion doctors to gain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital "does not bear a rational relationship to the legitimate right of the state in preserving and promoting fetal life or a woman's health," Yeakel wrote.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is representing the state, said immediately his office appealed the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

"The court upheld part of the law and enjoined part of the law," Abbott spokeswoman Lauren Bean said in a statement.

"As everyone - including the trial court judge - has acknowledged, this is a matter that will ultimately be decided by the appellate courts or the U.S. Supreme Court," Bean said.

Perry and Texas Legislature leaders also vowed to continue the fight.

"Today's decision will not stop our ongoing efforts to protect life and ensure the women of our state aren't exposed to any more of the abortion-mill horror stories that have made headlines recently," Perry said in statement.

"We will continue fighting to implement the laws passed by the duly-elected officials of our state, laws that reflect the will and values of Texans," Perry said.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the presiding officer of the Texas Senate, called the ruling "misguided."

"I am saddened by the court's decision to overturn certain elements of HB2 which were written to protect the health of Texas women," Dewhurst said in a reference to House Bill 2, the abortion legislation.

"It is disturbing to know that the abortion industry is celebrating a so-called victory that actually reduces the standard of care for the women from whom they profit," added Dewhurst, who is in a tough re-election fight with three Republican challengers.

State Rep. John Smithee, who heard the pros and cons of the legislation because he sits on the House State Affairs Committee - the panel that held lengthy public hearings on the legislation - said he is disappointed with the ruling but was not surprised by Yeakel's decision.

"This is just round one," Smithee, R-Amarillo, said.

Smithee, who is an attorney, said the court of appeals may take as many as nine months to rule on the case and so the earliest the Supreme Court could take it - should the court accept it because there's no guarantee it would - is in the 2014-15 cycle.

Rep. John Frullo, also a member of the House State Affairs Committee, said he is confident the state will eventually win the case.

"We would not have done anything that we thought was unconstitutional," said Frullo, R-Lubbock.

But abortion rights supporters say they feel just as good as about the law being on their side.

"Today's ruling is an important victory for Texas women and sends a clear message to lawmakers: It is unconstitutional for politicians to pass laws that take personal, private decisions away from women and their doctors," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement.

And state Sen. Wendy Davis, who became an overnight political star after filibustering for 11 hours the original abortion bill the Legislature considered this year, had this to say:

"Texas families are stronger and healthier when women across the state have access to quality healthcare," Davis, D-Fort Worth, said in a separate statement.

"As a mother, I would rather see our tax dollars spent on improving our kid's schools rather than defending this law," said Davis who is now seeking her party's gubernatorial nomination.

enrique.rangel@morris.com

• 512-673-7553

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.